Blizzard announces the 2019 Overwatch World Cup

Blizzard has officially announced the 2019 Overwatch World Cup. This marks the fourth year for the program, with this year’s competition being held at Blizzard’s annual convention, BlizzCon, in Anaheim, California. Blizzard made the announcement via the Overwatch Twitter account Thursday afternoon.

https://twitter.com/PlayOverwatch/status/1121421162947457024

Teams from around the globe will compete at BlizzCon this November to dethrone South Korea — the three-time reigning champions, who are looking to build upon their already undisputed World Cup dynasty.

Blizzard Entertainment

This year things are working a little differently, with the the entire tournament taking place in Anaheim. “To create the chance of seeing more nations represented at BlizzCon, we’re happy to announce a tournament structure that will offer opportunities for all eligible countries to form teams to challenge for their right to play in the onsite Group Stage,” wrote Blizzard. In addition to the entire competition taking place during the week leading into BlizzCon, fans will get to see every match, as the entire series will be broadcast live across the world.

Once the Preliminary Rounds have been completed, the Group Stage will commence after BlizzCon’s opening ceremony on Friday, November 1. Multiples matches will be played simultaneously until the bracket is narrowed down to the top six teams. These teams will then advance to the single-elimination playoff bracket, with the Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal matches being decided in the BlizzCon Arena on Saturday, November 2.

While numerous teams from around the world are expected to compete this year, only players and coaches from the 10 highest-ranked teams will receive Blizzard’s full support for “round-trip airfares, ground transportation, and double-occupancy hotel accommodations.” The rest of the teams are responsible for their own travel expenses, though Blizzard will supply some support for hotels.

As with the prior World Cups, Competition Committees are returning to help competing countries select their team’s players and coaches — with general managers being a new addition this year that committees can help select. To learn more about competing for your country, and how Competition Committees work, visit Blizzard’s World Cup page.